Slider mechanism



Nov, 19, 1946. o. FREGEOLLE SLIDER MECHANISM 7//////////////w/// w7//wm7h S v e h S 2 Fjal 3 V a 5 7 b 7J7/////////A////////////////V FldFb 1946Fxc 1 [An/5151702: flmd/751 7654504153 s l gd I A T 7 52\ Nov. 19, 1946.

&\\ N? O. FREGEOLLE SLIDER MECHANISM Filed Feb. l, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2F/G&

- i uu m Patented Nov. 19, %946 UNITED PATENT OFFICE sLIDER MECHANSMsa''- F'rgeoi, Central Fai's, n. I., assig'nor to Hinp'hil'l com any,Central Falls', R: I., a cor horatioii of Massachusetts ApplicationFebruary 1, 1946, Serial No. 644386 This invention reiates to a new anduser'u ir'nprvement in circular, independent needl, linitting machineshaving superpo'sed ailly aiined cyiinders equ'ppd with double endedneedles adapted to knit in either cylinder. m machines of this type, theneedles are usually operated by slide's inthe slots of each cylinderwhich can -be coupled to and uncoupled from eedls as required. Normally,the shahks of such sliders with the exception of their prating butts aref a uniform width slightly less than the depth of the cylinder Slots andare retained the riri by one or more spiral spring bands iitting closely'around the cylinder.

When transferrihg rrom rib to pia`in` knitting or from one of rib toanother type it is usually necessary to transfer eedls rrom the upper tothe lower cyiiiidr and, consequently, to uncouple them from the ipsercylinder sliders so that they can oserate in` the lower cylinder. suchuncoupig is ffected by swin'ging the lower end of each upper' cyiinderSlider concerned outwardly so that its book is 'separated from theunser' hok of` the conespnncung` ned This wings' the Io'wer end' of theslider' completely out side the' upper cy'lin'di* w'alls' andpractically its' entire length pro eets to some exten't. In on seqrence,the sii'et ftinir'rgb'nds aire' serun' outwafdly adj'a'c'nt the`transfer point and', since thesliders are' progressively uncouple'd; thebands are' heId out more* or less constantiy so that they are" incapabi'of returning a siider which has completed" this transfer baci; into'it'scylinder siot with' the necessary'sp'eed. The prim ary object of thisinventi'on is to" eliminate this' diflicuity and to in'sure-` that each`Slider involved' in a' transfer is returned quickly t'its normal'position within acylinderslot 4 u i One form of theinvention is' shownin the draw-` ing's' of which: V I

Figs l", 2 and 3-are` diagrammaticenlargenents of three upper cylindersliders swung outward to the 'extreme'transferposition;

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are similar Views of the same sliders in retractedposition immediately after transfer;

Fig. "l is a plan View iargely in section illustrating the way in whicha slider of this invention may be swung out for transfer withoutdisturbing the control of at least one of the retaining bands;

Figs. 8 and 9 are side elevations, Viewed from outside and insiderespectively, oi the retaining bands and the means for maintaining themin their proper positions with respect to the cylinder; and

Fig. 10 is a View iilustrating ,prior practice.

The condition p'revalent when ordinary sliders having shanks of uniformwidth are used is 'dia'- grammatically shown in Fig. 10, in which sliderl is assumed to be in the same position as the slid; ers shown in Figs.1, 2 and 3, i. e., in its extreme downward and outward transferposition. By it, rtaining band 2 has been Sprung out as shown. Slider 3which preceded slider I through the transfer operation should havereturned by this time to completely within its` cylinder slot butinstead follows the curve of the outsprung band 2 as shown. This is trueeven offl sliders preced ing slider 3. If as is frequently the case; thetransfer point is close to the point at whih yarn is fed, a slider inthis position Will strike the yarn feed or other partsof the machinewith resultin'g damage. By this intention, this co'ndition cannot occursince each slider is returned to its slot practically instantaneouslyafter transfer by a band the' operation of which is unaffectedbyanyother preceding or subsequent'siider.

In Figs'. 1-6 the upper cylinder is shown at 4. It has the usual walls'5 f orming slots within which the needles and sliders operate. In Figs.1-3 three sliders 6, 'I and 8 are shown in the extreme downward andoutward position assumed when their needles are transferred from theupper to the lower cylinder. This transfer may be efiected by needledivider 9 such asthat disclosed in application for U. S. Letters PatentSerial No. 559,136 filed October 18, 1944. The upper cylindex' issurrounded by three Slider retaining spring bands o, H and l2. Slider 6,instead of 7 being of uniforn width throughout the length of its shankas is usuai, is provided with two recesses I 3 and [4 so' positioned andorooortioned that bands 10 and' |2 will' not be dispiaced when band llji's swungout by the outward swinging" of slid'er 6 during transfer asshown- Fi`g 1.

Therefore, Slider 'wiil be returned' to its noro 9 it n m ymdi sot i tearliestpermittd instant-;by band H the 'action of which is notinfiuenced by any other Slider. Slider 'I is provided with a singlerecess 15 so proportioned and positioned that when it is swung out intothe extreme transfer position shown in Fig. 2 it will carry its band IDwith it but will leave bands ll and !2 undisturbed. Similarly, whenslider 8 is svrung out to the same transfer position by needle divider 9as shown in Fig. 3 it carries band 12 with it but does not disturb bandsn or ll because of recess !6 which ;is suitably proportioned andpositioned for this result. That is to say, each slider during transferis In Figs. 4, 5 and 6 it is assumed that the same,

sliders 5, 'i and 8 have completed the transfer and have been returnedwithin their cylinder slots. It will be noted that slider 8 is stillunder the control of band H, slider T of;`band 'li 'and slider 8 of band12 each of which engages a part of the slider of normal width., Eventhough two of the bands may be opposed to a recess or recesses in aslider the remaining band maintains the control. If the sliders aremoved further upward in' their slots which, of course, happens duringthe kriitting Operations, it will be obvious that one or more ofthe'bands lil, H and i will be opposed to some part of each slider ofnormal width and will, consequently, oppose any tendency of the sliderto move out of its slot. No slider is ever free of this control.

` In Fig. 7, it is assumed that 1x1 rib knitting has been in process andthat, in consequence, alternate sliders are to be transferred to thelower' cylinder for the production of a plain leg. In' this figure,slider 'i is in the extreme outward transfer position as shown in Fig. 2and retaining band !El is in the corresponding outwardly Sprung positionalso as shown in Fig. 2. p Slider (i, which has just completed transfer,has been fully restored to its slot already by its band !2 which isunafiected by the outswinging of slider l.

- .It will be noted that in Fig. 7 sliders] and 8 ;are spaced apart byanother slider or cylinder slot. This is because of the assumption themachine had been knitting x ribfabric prior to transfer. If it had beenknitting 6213 rib sliders 6,- 1 and `8 would, of course, follow oneanother directly'. If a rib panel more than three needles in width isknit before transfer so that groups of more than three needles have tobe transferredthe sequence of sliders E, 'I and 8 can be repeated inwhole or in part with respect to the additional needles and control .of'all of them maintained, as above described, by the same three bands 18,li and !2. However, the'invention -is not limited to sliders or bands'insets of three but includes any number of` sliders and any number ofbandsrequired to effect the mode of 'operation above described, theslider recesses being positioned and proportioned and the bands beingsufficient in number so that at all times at 'least one band will returna single slider toits slot immediately after: transfer 'without'influence by or upon any sliders which may be 'going through thetransfer operation.

Because of the passage' of the slider recesses der.

4 across the bands there is a possibilty that the bands may be verticalydisplaced. To prevent this, the retainer shown in Figs. 8 and 9 may beprovided. As shown, this consists of a bracket (1 attached to anysuitable fixed part of the machine' and which supports a U shapedretainer !8 provided with inwardly proiectingslots [9, 20 andzl throughwhich bands l0,.3 l l and !2 pass. Retainer !8 straddles thepont' atwhich transfer occurs and thus holds the three bands in correct verticalposition at either side of the point at which correct placement of thebands is essential. It isadjustable vertically as indicated 'by slots 22and screws 23.

This invention may also be used upon eccentric and concentric wrapspindles of the type employing swingable'fingers to insure the promptreturn of the fingersto their idle position inside of the needle circle.By recessng the fingers in a manner similar to that shown herein forsliders, the independent return of each' fin ger by its own band can beassured; The' invention may be used for still other purposes whichwith-1 out further disclosure will occur to those in the art as occasionarises.

I claim; 1 V i j i 1. For a circular, independent needle, ;lnit tingmachine having coaxial cylinders pro;

vided with needle slots, the combination of iden-' tical groups ofsliders within the slots and each slider being adapted to movelongitudinally thereof and to be swung outwardly thereof; ;a

plurality of resilient means surrounding said 2. For a circular,independent needle, knitting machine having 'coaxial cylinders providedwith needle slots, the combination of identical groups of sliders withinthe slots and` each slider being adapted to move longitudinally thereofand tobe swung outwardly thereof, a plurality -of resilientmeans"surrounding said cylinder for maintaining said sliders within theirslots regardless of their longitudinal position, means for swinging thelower end of each slider outwardly from its slot adjacent the lower endof its'longitudinal travel, eachof said sliders being provided with oneor more depressions in its outer edgeso posi tioned that" each sliderwilihave' operative con-` tact with only a single one of'saidresilient'mea'ns when outswung and means for retaining. said pluralityof resilient means in predetermined, spaced, longitudinal positionsaround 'said cylin

